HRS § 232-16 — Appeal to tax appeal court


§232-16 Appeal to tax appeal court. (a)
A taxpayer or county may appeal directly to the tax appeal court without
appealing to the state taxation board of review or any equivalent
administrative body established by county ordinance; provided that a taxpayer
appealing a real property tax assessment shall first obtain a decision from an
administrative body established by county ordinance, before appealing to the
tax appeal court, if county ordinance requires a taxpayer to do so. An appeal
permitted by law to the tax appeal court is properly commenced by filing, on or
before the date fixed by law for the taking of the appeal, a written notice of
appeal in the office of the tax appeal court and by service of the notice of
appeal on the director of taxation in the case of an appeal involving the
department of taxation, or on the real property assessment division of the
county involved in the case of an appeal involving the county, or upon both the
director of taxation and the real property assessment division of the county
involved in the case of an appeal involving both the department of taxation and
the county. An appealing taxpayer shall also pay the costs in the amount fixed
by section 232-22.
(b) The notice of appeal to the tax appeal
court shall be sufficient if it meets the requirements prescribed for a notice
of appeal to the taxation board of review and may be amended at any time;
provided that it sets forth a brief description of the property involved in
sufficient detail to identify the same and the valuation placed thereon by the
assessor.
(c) The notice of appeal shall be accompanied
by a copy of the taxpayer's return, if any has been filed; provided that an
individual taxpayer is authorized to redact all but the last four digits of the
taxpayer's social security number from any accompanying tax return.
If a county ordinance requires a taxpayer
appealing a real property tax assessment to first obtain a decision from an
administrative body established by county ordinance prior to appealing to the
tax appeal court, the notice of appeal shall be accompanied by a copy of the
decision from the administrative body.
(d) An appeal to the tax appeal court shall be
deemed to have been taken in time if the notice thereof and costs and the copy
of the notice shall have been deposited in the mail, postage prepaid, properly
addressed to the tax appeal court, the director of taxation, or the real
property assessment division of the county involved, and to the taxpayer or
taxpayers in the case of an appeal taken by a county, respectively, on or
before the date fixed by law for the taking of the appeal.
(e) An appeal to the tax appeal court shall
bring up for review all questions of fact and all questions of law, including
constitutional questions, necessary to the determination of the objections
raised by the taxpayer or county in the notice of appeal.